Introduction
Despite various efforts to ensure a reduction in mortality rates in poor settings, a lot of women pass away from cases that can easily be prevented. These causes are mainly related to birth and pregnancy. A good number of these deaths are witnessed in the low- and medium-income areas, characterized by poor access to essential resources.
Why is Mississippi profiled as the most “pro-life” state?
Pro-life states are characterized by maternal deaths, pro-life policies and high teen pregnancy rates. Mississippi can be sidelined using these characteristics comfortably. More specifically, the direct maternal death occurs as a result of a snag in pregnancy, delivery or a combination of both. Indirect maternal death results from pregnancy related death with major causes of death or health complications being totally unrelated to pregnancy (Smith, 2005).
The other complications are viewed to be those that were not properly diagnosed as most women do not receive proper medical care. Another problem that with time is seen to affect women and eventually leads to maternal death is reproductive morbidity (Smith, 2005). This problem in most cases affects women before, during and after the childbearing year. Other problems include “tract infections and other pregnancy related diseases which are always given less attention as compared to other main causes of maternal death” (Smith, 2005). Finally, another crucial factor which lead to maternal mortality is adverse energy deficiency. All these factors lead to the existence of pro-life status in Mississippi.
- List at least one way Pennsylvania’s proposed Abortion Control Act (1989) directly challenged Roe v. Wade:
- What percent of Mississippi women seeking an abortion travel outside of the state to access a provider?Following the banning of abortions in public hospitals and the subsequent withdrawal of government funding from public hospitals, the Abortion Act, (1989) was greatly affected. The Supreme Court ruled that the genesis of life starts during conception, thereby regarding an abortion of unborn children as a murder. Due to this, almost 24% of women are forced to travel across states to seek abortion services because of the lack of such services in the area they reside in. The pro-life movement has been very active in Mississippi while trying to eradicate abortion clinics (Smith, 2005).
- What percent of counties in the United States do not have an abortion services provider?
- Discuss how race, class, and gender inequalities limit reproductive choices for the women in Clarksdale, Mississippi. How does this example tie in with the discussion about “reproductive justice” in the reading?
Following human rights activists and pro-life policies, the US has become an enemy to abortion service providers. According to Peat & Barton (2008), about 87% of the states do not harbour abortion service providers. People of lower social-economic status tend to live a shorter life than their counterparts of the higher social-economic status, which is based on the fact that people of lower social-economic status are more likely to face more difficult and severe living conditions than those whose status can be regarded as high (Peat & Barton, 2008). In addition, this economic class is faced with many social problems that affect their life expectancy. High morbidity and mortality rates may be higher for some ethnic groups in the UK because of social-economic status.
Explain the complexity of the “health exception” in state and federal abortion laws. How might a narrow vs. a broad interpretation of “health” determine who has access to legal abortion procedures?
The life expectancy of women is lower than that of men in many areas. These inequalities of life expectancy with regard to gender are caused by various theories, indicating that the difference in the inequalities may be caused by natural selection theory. Naturally, women are more adaptive than men. At the same time, women are more prone to life complications as they mature. Furthermore, Peat and Barton (2008) state that women are faced with more serious illnesses with regard to their occupations, emotional conditions and family roles. In other words, this theory explains that inequalities arise as a result of financial difficulties being evident by the morbidity rates among women. This also explains the reason why the “economically capable” people are able to access legal abortion procedures.
References
Peat, J. K., & Barton, B. (2008). Statistics workbook for evidence-based health care. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell/BMJ Books.
Smith, A. (2005). Beyond Pro-Choice Versus Pro-Life: Women Of Colour And Reproductive Justice. NWSA Journal, 17 (1), 119-140.